NBI: Intel info points to another mastermind
THE National Bureau of Investigation yesterday said it is not discounting the possibility that a person more powerful or influential than suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag masterminded the October 3 killing of veteran radio commentator Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa.
NBI supervising agent Eugene Javier made the remarks a day after the NBI and the Philippine National Police jointly filed murder charges against Bantag, BuCor deputy security officer Ricardo Zulueta, and several prisoners for their alleged involvement in the killing of Lapid and New Bilibid Prison inmate Cristito Villamor Palana alias Jun Villamor, alleged middleman in the case, before the Department of Justice.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said “everything is possible” even as he ruled out the involvement of other persons in Lapid’s killing “as of this time.”
“Wala kaming nakikitang iba as of this time (We do not see anyone else as of this time),” Remulla told reporters in an ambush interview at the DOJ when asked for comment on the statement of the Mabasa family that they are unconvinced that the case stops with Bantag.
Remulla also said he initially eyed other persons or groups to be behind the killing but facts pointed to Bantag. “I was hoping I could point to other groups, the drug lords, and not Bantag but ito iyong lumabas na facts,” he said.
Remulla said affidavits of witnesses point to the commission of a crime and to Bantag as the alleged mastermind.
“Tandaan natin ‘yun. Let us look at the facts. Let us not look at the speculations of people,” he said, adding that the DOJ, NBI and the PNP have no agenda in the case other than to resolve it, unmask all those involved, and file charges in court.
‘We have no biases here. We are not here to oppress anybody. We are here to find out the truth. That’s our job,” he added.
Despite the filing of the murder charges, Remulla stressed the probe on the murders of Lapid and Villamor is not yet closed.
“The investigation is still ongoing. We are still getting some facts and a lot of people are coming forward with information,” he said,
Javier said they have received intelligence information about another supposed mastermind in Lapid’s killing, but the information has yet to be verified.
“We are not discounting that possibility, na bukod pa kay Director General Bantag, merong puwede na ma-implicate sa kasong ito (We are not discounting that possibility, that aside from Director General Bantag, there could be someone else who would be implicated in this case),” Javier said in a TV interview.
“We have to understand that Director General Bantag has the rank of undersecretary as BuCor chief. It is only logical na mas mataas pa sa kanya (that there is someone with a higher rank than he). Then he should be very powerful,” he added.
Lapid’s brother Roy Mabasa said while they are glad over the filing of the case against Bantag and several others, the family remains unconvinced that the case stops with Bantag.
Mabasa said even Remulla on Monday said the case is still only 95 percent solved and that investigators are working on the remaining 5 percent.
“Hindi kami kumbinsido sa ngayon na hanggang kay Bantag lamang itong kasong ito. Hindi namin sana gusto na titigil lang ito diyan kay Bantag. Kung may nalalabing limang porsiyento sana’y patuloy pa rin imbestigahan ito at malantad kung sino talaga ang mga taong nasa likod niyan (We are not fully convinced that this involves only Bantag. We don’t want the investigation to end only with Bantag. If there is a remaining five percent, we hope they will continue to investigate this to expose whoever is behind this),” he said.
Earlier, Remulla asked Bantag and Zulueta to surrender and face the charges, saying they will be accorded due process and fair hearing to defend themselves.
Remulla said Bantag had a clear motive to kill Lapid due to the latter’s continued exposure of his alleged activities in his show “Lapid Fire” on DWBL 1242.
As to Villamor, he said he was killed to cover up Lapid’s murder.
Remulla also said investigators are waiting for the report from the Anti-Money Laundering Council on the money trail in the case
The AMLC earlier confirmed that the bank account of self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial received P550,000, the same amount allegedly offered to kill Lapid.
FLIGHT
Remulla said he hopes Bantag and Zulueta will cooperate with authorities now that murder charges have been filed against them.
He earlier said Zulueta went into hiding four or five days ago while the NBI is monitoring Bantag’s movements and whereabouts.
“I hope they would just cooperate. Flight is an indication of guilt at pag hindi sila nag-submit sa preliminary investigation, ibig sabihin may tinatago sila. Marami silang sinasabi sa media, bakit di nila sabihin sa ating fiscal sa preliminary investigation (if they refused to submit to the preliminary investigation, it means they are hiding something. They are saying many things to the media, why not say it to the fiscal in the preliminary investigation),’ he said.
Remulla also said they have yet to finalize the team of prosecutors who will handle the case but said he hopes it will be done before Friday when he leaves for Switzerland to attend another human rights conference.
Bantag has denied involvement in Lapid’s killing, saying he has nothing to gain from it. He also denied any illegal activity or owning numerous vehicles as claimed by Lapid in his radio program.
‘NO RECANTATION’
PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin expressed confidence that the witnesses are not going to recant their sworn statements.
“In the current case we are investigating jointly with the NBI, we do not see any recantation,” said Azurin.
Two of the witnesses in the case were self-confessed gunman Joel Escorial and Villamor’s sister.
Villamor sent text messages to his sister, identifying those responsible for Lapid’s killing, before he was killed by suffocation at the NBP in Muntinlupa City on October 18.
Azurin said they have strong evidence against the accused, including Bantag.
“All evidence are supported by statements of the witnesses,” he said.
PNP spokesman Col. Jean Fajardo, said the PNP is waiting for a detailed report from AMLC on Escorial’s bank account.
“What we have is the preliminary report confirming that money went into the account of Escorial. What we need to know is the money trail, who deposited the money into the account,” said Fajardo.
“That (detailed report from AMLC) will serve as additional evidence, determine the personalities who made the deposits. If we identify additional persons of interest, we can submit a supplemental complaint,” said Fajardo.
SPECULATIONS
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, asked the public to just let the PNP and the NBI go on with their investigation and stop speculating as to who the mastermind is.
“You can speculate as much as you want but the investigation points to that person (Bantag). Naghahanap pa kayo, gusto niyo pa idawit ang nag-appoint kay Bantag, si PRRD?
Sino pa gusto niyo idawit? (You are still looking for someone to link [to the murder case], to implicate the one who appointed Bantag, who is former President Duterte? Who else do you want to implicate)?” Dela Rosa said in an interview with the Senate media.
Bantag was appointed by Duterte as BuCor chief in September 2019, replacing Nicanor Faeldon who was booted out of the bureau for disobeying the former president’s order to stop the release of almost 2,000 heinous crimes convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance law.
Dela Rosa said he is confident that both the PNP and NBI will dig deeper into the Lapid murder case but if the buck stops with Bantag, the people should respect it.
He said the mastermind in the killing is the one who has the “opportunity” to order the hit.
The PNP earlier said that it is investigating 160 persons of interest in the Lapid case but it did not say if Duterte was one of them even if Lapid was a known critic of the former president.
Bantag was among the 160 persons of interest.
Dela Rosa said if Duterte is one of the 160 persons of interest, the former president should be included in the probe but he sees no reason for the former Davao City mayor to order a hit on Lapid.
“Bakit pa niya patayin? Nag-retire ka na, hindi ka na president, bakit hindi mo pinapatay nung ikaw pa ang president? Ngayon pa na wala ka na sa poder saka ka pa magka-interes sa tao? Ano pa ang career na pinag-uusapan? Motive is malayo. (Why would he order the assassination? He [Duterte] has already retired, he is no longer president. Why did he not order the assassination when he was still president. Why now when he no longer in power.
There is no more career to talk about. The motive if far-fetched),” he added.
Dela Rosa said it is best if Bantag would surrender so he can answer the allegations, adding that the suspended BuCor chief need not fear for his life if he is in government custody.
He said Bantag can be detained in the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, like former senator Leila de Lima. — With Victor Reyes and Raymond Africa
